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Young America’s Foundation is “the conservative force” behind the spread of freedom’s principles on college campuses, declared a front-page profile in this Sunday’s New York Times.

With a Sunday circulation of more than one million, readers across the country and around the world now know about the resurgence of Young Americans for Freedom chapters at high schools and colleges nationwide.

The New York Times notes how the Foundation has “doubled its programming, including campus speeches” in recent years and successfully “dispatched 31 speakers to colleges last month alone.”

The New York Times heralded the Foundation’s “mission of grooming future conservative leaders” and rich history stretching back to William F. Buckley Jr., “who reveled in poking fun at and holes in liberalism in higher education.”

However, as is typical for the New York Times, the piece lays the blame for any liberal obstruction of conservative events at the feet of conservatives themselves, laughably calling YAF speakers “mean spirited” for wanting to share their ideas in the intellectual echo chambers that our universities have become. As conservatives know all too well, the “mean spiritedness” (to use the Times’ word) comes from radical leftists who shout down our speakers, block access to our events, and do everything possible to prevent the free exchange of ideas.

Nonetheless, this prominent profile adds to previous New York Times coverage of Young America’s Foundation.

Noting the Foundation’s leadership within the Conservative Movement, the New York Times has called YAF “the first substantial national conservative organization” and remarked that our founding document, the Sharon Statement, “drew on the major streams of conservative thought, including religious freedom, free-market economics, and an unbending resistance to communism.”

“More than a manifesto for young conservatives, however, the document proved to be a seminal document in bringing different kinds of conservatives together.” The New York Times continued its reflection on the Sharon Statement calling it the “central manifesto” of the Conservative Movement.

The Washington Post also recognized the prominence and importance of the Foundation’s role in modern conservatism and the impact of the Sharon Statement, saying “long considered a declaration of principles of modern conservatism … the 368-word document defines much of the ideological framework of the Conservative Movement, including a belief in limited government and an equal fervent belief in an unlimited free market.”

This recognition of YAF’s founding document and the cornerstone of modern conservatism has been supplemented over the years by mainstream coverage of the important work Young America’s Foundation undertakes.

The New York Times previously reported on the Foundation’s student programs at the Reagan Ranch and our use of the mountaintop property for “passing down the legacy of conservatism.” The Washington Post reported on President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo as a “haven” for young conservatives “marginalized on their liberal campuses.” The Post notes the life-changing impact made on students by a visit to the Reagan Ranch: “At the retreat, [students find] solidarity in their ongoing battle against liberals and big government, leaving reaffirmed in their principles.”
When even the mainstays of the liberal media are forced to admit that conservative change is happening and freedom’s principles are being advanced by the next generation, we know Young America’s Foundation’s students and programs are making a profound difference in the future of our nation.

Young America’s Foundation continues to be “the conservative force” within our Movement, providing students with the experiences to light up the rest of their lives–The Conservative Movement starts here.